Project Runway Season 12 Episode 5: YOU Choose Your Materials

Well, that was a dramatic episode!

This is going to be a short review, because I've been on the road all day and my laptop was dead so I didn't get to edit until now... which is midnight. And I have to be at school moving in at 9 in the morning. Ugh.

Check out all of my Project Runway Season 12 review posts HERE.

The episode begins with the designers talking about Sandro leaving, and their various opinions.

They meet Tim and the corporate marketing manager of Lexus, who show them multiple lexus cars. They are told that they're going to be working in teams of 3. Each person creates a look, and the three looks need to be cohesive. The teams are:
Ken, Alexandria, Sue. (team crazy!)
Kate, Jeremy, Karen.
Justin, Dom, Helen.
Alexander, Bradon, Miranda. (which, for me, was the dream team!)

Tim then says that they don't have to take inspiration from cars. Huh? I really hate when Project Runway does this, and it's the second time they've done this so far this season. They have a perfectly good challenge, and then they make it more confusing for product placement. They totally didn't need to have anything to do with Lexus on this challenge. Really, they could have made ANY challenge the Lexus challenge at this rate. At least in the past, they've tried to incorporate the Lexus into the design.

They're then told that this is their 3^rd unconventional challenge. Third? Really? This is unprecedented! As much as I like the unconventional challenges, I often find them rather pointless, and 3/5 episodes is simply ridiculous. I understand that doing the unconventional shows that they can think outside the box, but in the real world, when are they going to be FORCED to work with odd materials? Stick with one per season please, y'all!

As if the challenge wasn't already confusing enough, they are also told that each team can choose 2/3 places to go: a store with vintage wallpaper, a home goods/party store, and a specialty foods store.

Jeremy's team chooses the home goods/party store and the food store. 

Helen's team goes for the antique wallpaper store and the food store.

Team Sue/Ken/Alexandria chooses the home goods/party store and the antique wallpaper store.

The dream team went for the home goods/party store and the antique wallpaper store

Even when they were shopping, Ken, Alexandria, and Sue were already having problems. Going into this, Ken was easily my favorite member of this team, but I’m kinda siding with Sue right now. He was doing a really bad job communicating, regardless of how right he may be.

The designers get to the work room and begin to work, when suddenly, Tim and Sandro walk in. Sandro is very calm and says that he's here for closure, and to apologize, especially to Helen and Ken.  He seemed pretty genuine, which I really appreciated.

Back to work, and Tim's critiques! Tim gives Alexander, Miranda, and Bradon a great critique! He gets on to Ken’s team for using a curtain for unconventional challenge, which I think is a duh moment. I mean, when will we finally get an unconventional challenge where SOMEONE doesn't try to pass a fabric off as a fabric. Honestly, I'm not surprised that she did it, because her bio shows that she's not a big TV watcher. Did she know what she was getting into? I'm doubting it bigtime now, as her sewing skills are being questioned for about, oh, the FIFTH straight episode! I mean, I've liked some of the things she's made, and I like her as a person, but when you constantly can't use the machines, I don't get how you remain. After Tim leaves, surprise, surprise: Ken, Sue, and Alexandria get in another argument. I can't even remember what this one was about, because they were constantly fighting. Maybe Sue's lack of experience with machines? Or Ken being a diva? I don't even know.

Day of runway:
More chaos for team crazy! We see Ken duct tape his dress! Oh no! Sue is hand-sewing her dress even though it's getting down to the wire. Ut oh. Alexandria tries to take it to get sewn after Tim calls time and he refuses. Sue has to her model out undressed. Tim has to tell them to stop touching it, but at least it's on her, because last time I saw it, one whole side was open!

Runway comment time!

Alexander: I thought it was cool and sculptural

Miranda: much more simple than the rest of her team, but she had problems
Bradon: WHOA. That is just so cool and sculptural. My pick for winner. Holy crap.

Justin: Top, ok. Pants look ok now too. They got that whole mess sorted out.

Dom: the sculpture is cool but odd fabric to do it with. The antique pattern didn't fit the modern design.

Helen: way too over the top poofy!

Sue: nice colors, but kinda a disaster.

Ken: I think it looks kinda cool, but needs to fit better.

Alexandria: odd sound but the skirt really does look good.

Jeremy: The sides look really pretty. It looks cute!

Karen: Oh hey, baggy! But kinda cool pattern! I'm sorry, I'm never going to get over feeling that Karen makes baggy clothes.

Kate: Cool take on the little black dress.

Heidi announces that Jeremy, Karen, and Kate are the winning team, and Ken, Alexandria, and Sue are the losing team, BUT that my dreamteam (Bradon, Alexander, and Miranda) was a close second. Also, I feel that I really need to start spelling Bradon correctly. I always spell it Braden and then have to go back and fix it. Also, as another note, I really wish that the winning look didn't have to come from the winning team. I feel like Bradon's look would have been the winner if it was just based solely upon individual design. It was just so cool.

Winning team: The judges love how they mixed the conventional and unconventional, and really love how Jeremy's dress fits. 

Losing team: They don’t have any info to tell about their looks. Zac just hates everything. All the judges just hate everything. Alexandria and Ken throw Sue under the bus for not knowing how to sew. Ken also throws sue under the bus saying that her model finished the look. Ken and Alexandria argue again. HOT MESS.

Back in the lounge, Ken gets mad at Alexandria for what she said on the runway.

Tim brings out the models and said that he lost it. Sue’s model actually finished the garment so it didn’t fall off. Alexandria was the only one trying to get everything to work on that team.

Jeremy is the winner! YAY! I'm so glad he's finally won something!

Sue is declared OUT. Alexandria is in. Ken is….. IN.
Tim agrees with the judges and isn’t going to save Sue. All I can say is WOW. I mean, the last couple weeks, we've seen a gradual decline in Sue, and I did mention in one of my posts (not sure which one) that I didn't think she would last quite as long as I originally thought. I didn't expect her out this soon though! Also, from the looks of the preview, I'm thinking either Dom or Helen might be out, and it might be a double elimination. HOWEVER, for some reason, I also got the feeling that Tim might use his save next week, but we'll see!

So, there you go! Hope you enjoyed this week's Project Runway review. Did the judges make the right decision? Did you think it should have been someone else? Was Bradon TOTALLY robbed of a win? Who's YOUR choice for the winner of Project Runway? Let me know in the comments! Thanks for reading! If you haven't, you should definitely check out my "Ranking Past Project Runway Designers" series HERE! Also, click HERE if you'd like to see all of my Project Runway season 12 reviews! Hope to see you back here for my review next week! See you then, y'all!

Project Runway Season 12 Episode 4: Tie The Knot

Well, this was an interesting episode! I barely even took notes because I was just sitting there freaking out about what was coming next!

Check out all of my Project Runway Season 12 review posts HERE.

The episode begins with Sandro freaking out. He's cussing, screaming at the other designers, and then he storms out. At this point, I was somewhat confused, because I thought the freakout would be after the challenge, near the end of the episode. I almost thought that we were seeing the designers' lounge right after Timothy was eliminated, but I remembered seeing Sandro in the workroom on the previews. So, when they did the "flashback to 36 hours earlier," I was finally un-confused. Hallelujah. All I'm really concerned about is whether or not they're going to eliminate someone after Sandro leaves. Because clearly, you can't come back after storming off the set like that. Look what happened to Keith in season 3!

While they're in their apartments, Jeremy talks about losing his grandma. After 3 episodes of him being just a supporting character, seeing him focused on makes me a little nervous for him. Usually that either means they're in the top or going home. Hopefully, it's not the latter.

Rather than going to the runway, the designers actually meet Tim in the workroom, where there are tons of bows all over the place. Tim says he's going to introduce a special guest... and in walks Jesse Tyler Ferguson! I don't watch Modern Family, but I do know that he's a big deal. The designers are told that they have to make an outfit inspired by bowties that encorporate at least one bowtie in an unconventional way. The bowties are all from Jesse Tyler Ferguson's line "Tie The Knot," which supports equal marriage rights.

They take the obligatory trip to Mood with a suggested budget of $200. Sue spends $404 and says that’s not so bad. Uhhhh…. right. Because it's totally cool to double your budget. I'm not sure what she plans to do if she makes it very far in the competition!

All throughout the time in the workroom, Sandro is having a bit of a freakout about his stuff being too much.

When Tim comes, they have a chat and Sandro can’t understand that he has to make things he likes, and not for the judges. Also, I really loved how Sandro decided to call Tim "Top Gunn" and that before leaving, Tim said, "Be Sandro, I’ll be Top Gunn." Gotta love Tim Top Gunn! When Jeremy talks to Tim, I’m not sure whether this is going to be good or bad. It sounds like he really knows what he's doing, but at the same time it sounds literally like grandma clothes.

All throughout the first day, as well as runway day, Bradon is running around frantic trying to make a jacket. I actually wasn't sure whether or not he actually whipped one up until I saw his look on the runway! Miranda was having a problem with her shirt, so she just chopped it off a bit. It might have looked ok... if the bottom wasn't so wonky. She might be in trouble

Runway time! This time I just wrote little snippets.

Dom: I think it looks kinda cool but I'm not sure if they will like the way she used the bowties.

Jeremy: I’m worried for him. This just doesn't look good at all.

Bradon: I thought his top looked really cool, and the whole thing looked interesting with his model's skin tone.

Ken: Ken used the ties in the seams. I'm not sure that was a smart move, since his dress looks kinda boring. 

Miranda: That top looks really messed up, but I do like the jacket and skirt

Helen: It didn't end up looking as bad as I thought it would, but still doesn't look great.

Alexander: I liked the rainbow bowtie effect!

Sandro: The colors looked nice together, but I don't think the dress looked that great.

Sue: It's way too simple and the bowties look like a spiderweb.

Justin: I thought it was pretty, but knew it would be way too simple for the judges.

Kate: I like the pants, but I thought the top just looked weird.

Karen: Although the pants fit well, the whole effect of the outfit was kinda just baggy, which is what she's done on any challenge on her own. It's not a cute aesthetic!

Alexandria: I thought the skirt was cool and interesting, but the top didn't seem to go with it and just looked wrong.

After Heidi says who is going to remain on the runway, Sandro asks for feedback about his dress. Zac is especially critical of the dress, and Heidi says she'd never wear it. I do have to really commend Sandro for asking, regardless of what the other designers might say. I personally get annoyed when an outfit I particularly like or dislike is just in the middle, and I really wish I could get the judges' opinions on everything! And when a designer is in the middle, how are they supposed to know what the judges thought of the outfit?? So kudos, Sandro, for actually getting up there and straight-up asking for advice. I'm not sure why this bothered the judges. Even Tyra on ANTM likes when contestants ask for advice to improve, and she's easily upset at someone speaking out of turn. 

After the safe designers go back to the lounge, Helen and Sandro get in an argument and start screaming at each other. Ken starts yelling at him too, and Sandro storms out and just leaves. And then he smashes the camera and appears to be going to get a taxi. Before we get full details, we're back on the runway.

Top 3

Bradon: Heidi loves it and wants to wear it. They also loved the colors.

Dom: they really like all the top and the stripes and think that the striped bowties look great!

Kate: They say it's cute, clever, and modern. They also didn't notice the bowtie on the pants until she pointed it out!

Bottom 3

Jeremy: They said that the jacket was highlighting belly button, which is not a cute look. They thought it was too serious and too old.
Miranda: They said it was a non-cool 80s moment and that the top was the worst part.
Sue: They literally asked "What were you thinking?" They thought it looked messy. Keep it simple, stupid!

When Tim brings in the models for the close-up look, he informs the judges of Sandro storming off and says he will update them on what happens.

The top and bottom are back on the runway. Bradon is declared the winner and actually proposes to his partner right there on the stage! Heidi tells his partner, Josh, that he'd better say yes. Dom and Kate are both in. Heidi tells the bottom 3 that because Sandro stormed off the set, that he has eliminated himself, and all 3 of them are safe!

We then get a flash-forward to a week later when Bradon Skypes with his partner, who tells him that prop 8 has been eliminated, and then proposes. Bradon (of course) says yes, and then tells Josh about proposing on the runway. Well, at least we know Bradon will be around for at least another week (which is 3-4 challenges for us)

Hope you enjoyed this week's Project Runway review. Did the judges make the right decision? Who do you think would have been eliminated had Sandro not eliminated himself? I found it really funny that on the actual poll, Jeremy had only 1% of the vote! I think it would have been Sue, but was sure they wouldn't eliminate someone after Sandro left. Thanks for reading! If you haven't, you should definitely check out my "Ranking Past Project Runway Designers" series HERE! Hope to see you back here for my review next week! See you then, y'all!

Project Runway Season 12 Episode 3: An Unconventional Coney Island

It's time for season 12's third episode, and our second unconventional challenge! Woot!

Check out all of my Project Runway Season 12 review posts HERE.

The episode begins at 5:30 AM with Heidi going into all of the designers' apartments and waking them up. As hilarious as this was, the thing I find ridiculous is that poor Heidi had to be awake that early to wake them up! And she did literally nothing else with them until the runway. Poor, poor Hodi! (Season 1 Jay reference, anyone? No? Just me? OK then.)

Heidi tells them they are taking a trip to Coney Island that has to do with their next challenge. Clearly much later, in the daylight, Tim meets them on the Coney Island Boardwalk. They meet a guy from Yoplait frozen yogurt. Before their challenge, begins, they have to take carts of Yoplait fro yo and give it away to people. The people they give fro yo to will give them a word to describe their experience. The designers are to choose 3 words and write them down. These will define theme and direction of design. They then discover that this is a team challenge. They'll be working in teams of 2. Tim pulls out the velvet bag to choose the teams. They are: Alexander and Justin, Alexandria and Dom, Ken and Jeremy, Braden and Karen, Kate and Helen, Sue and Sandro, and Timothy and Miranda.

At this point, I was already slightly confused by what was going on. This was possibly because I knew from previews that this was the unconventional challenge, and I couldn't quite see how this whole Fro-Yo thing fit in. Since I was typing notes as they went along, I actually had to pause the show to figure out what they were actually being told. I couldn't keep up with Tim's instructions, and I type really quickly. But more on this in a minute.

They have 15 minutes to hand out samples and get words from people. These people have to be people that Project Runway got to come onto the show, because most people would just say "delicious" or something like that. After their 15 minutes are up, Tim announces that they are not going shopping at Mood. They’re playing games and winning prizes, which will serve as their materials. They each get 100 dollars with their go bank card and 30 minutes to play games.

In my opinion, this is really 2 challenges put into one. The whole Yoplait Fro-Yo thing could be quite successful as a standalone challenge, and clearly the unconventional challenge works quite well on its own. Project Runway does a lot of promotion stuff like this, like with the HP challenges, and the Garnier challenges, but this one just seemed way too forced. I mean, I can't even remember what words the teams used, besides maybe one or two teams that were in the top/bottom. And the judges didn't even seem to factor it into their judging, which just shows how completely pointless and forced this product placement was.  

Everyone seems to be having fun and getting along. This is why carnivals are so awesome. The highlight of this whole sequence was, of course, the UNICORN moment. I know many people don't like Timothy, but I just love him, and that little segment with him finding the unicorn, freaking out, and running over to win it was just the funniest part of the whole show. And the fact that he rode it around just killed me. He's precious. I also had to laugh seeing them all standing in front of the carnival with their huge bags full of prizes. They all had SO much stuff!

We got a lot of workroom drama this week courtesy of Miranda and Timothy and Sandro and Sue. I definitely think that most of the drama between Sandro and Sue is due to Sandro just not being able to compromise on anything. He has too strong of a personality and is coming off very rude. 

FLUFF! FLUFF EVERYWHERE!

We get another segment of Timothy and his unicorns. Apparently, according to him, unicorns are not simply horses with horns. I think he also said that unicorns have cloven hooves, which, in case you were unaware, are not what horses have. Cloven hooves have points that are kinda like toes, but horses' hooves are that perfect half-oval horseshoe shape (go figure). I knew the stuff I learned in Equine science would help me someday!

... No, really, I legitimately took that class my sophomore year of high school. And I didn't learn anything, because I did horseback riding in elementary school.

But I digress. A LOT.

Timothy also says that he doesn't want to cut up the unicorn. And adds that unicorns are apparently more like hippos than horses. And unfortunately, no equine science knowledge can help me understand what in the world he was talking about there.

Miranda left the room at some point, and while she was gone, Timothy re-sketched and designed the look and she got upset. During Tim Time, Sandro and Sue started fighting again and Sandro was being really rude. Tim also sees that Miranda and Timothy’s look is not great.

Later, they're all sewing, and Miranda begins badmouthing Timothy and their dress. And when he walks in, Miranda badmouths him right in front of him. Poor Timmy. I like Miranda, but I’m starting to get really annoyed that she’s being so incredibly rude. Timothy is thisclose to quitting, and when he walked out of the workroom, I was almost convinced that he was leaving. But, having seen the previews, I knew he hadn't, because it showed him on the runway.

What he was actually doing was going and sitting (with his unicorn, I might add!) and reading the card that his model, Sophie, gave to him earlier that day. This girl is just the sweetest! I'm not sure why she wrote him a card, but seriously, how awesome is she! Last week, when he went on and on about her being so nice and giving him hugs and encouragement, I figured she was just doing that to be nice, but it seems like she's really a supersweet girl who genuinely cares about him. That's the model you want to have when you're on this show. One of the sweetest Project Runway moments I've seen!

The next morning, Miranda gave Timothy a tearful apology for badmouthing him, but Timothy shoots back that actions speak louder than words. Ouch. While I can appreciate that he was extremely hurt, and that yes, actions speak way louder than words, she seemed genuinely upset and sorry. I think she probably took time reflecting that night and realized that she had been very wrong, and was trying to remedy their relationship before sending the look down the runway. She didn't handle the first day well, but he didn't handle runway day well at all.

RUNWAY!

Bradon/Karen: very sculptural. I was excited to see this completed, but I don't think I like it. It looks like there's a huge green tumor coming out of her hip. I'm surprised they got away with that one.

Dom/Alexandria: It's basically just a blue dress with a domo face on it. To me, it looks very junior, which is something that usually doesn't go well with the judges. Which is why I was completely surprised that the judges liked it. Seriously, what?!

Sandro/Sue: even with all their bickering, I think they ended up with a good look, even if Sandro was completely overpowering.

Helen/Kate: I think I may have been even more impressed that Kelly Osbourne. Seriously, when that walked out, I decided that if that didn't win, then there was something wrong with this show.

Alexander/Justin: I liked the colors. I thought the top looked good when the jacket was taken off. But that's about as good as it got. 

Jeremy/Ken: For me, this was the dream team. And for the third week, they made something really impressive that got passed over for the top. I'm not sure what the judges were thinking this week.

Timothy/Miranda: When I saw it on the runway, I actually liked it! I really don't know why the judges hated it. Yeah, it may have been a little safe, but it wasn't the bad color pallete that they made it out to be!

Top 2:
Helen/Kate
Alexandria/Dom

I'm really surprised that Alexandria and Dom were in the top. Sure, it looked well-made and clean, but it looked SO junior! What are they thinking??

Bottom 2:
Timothy/Miranda
Justin/Alexander

Once again, I was surprised that Timothy and Miranda were in the bottom. I thought that in the end, they were able to pull it off, even if they didn't get along. I thought Bradon and Karen deserved it more, maybe only because I predicted Karen to be gone by now... but I like Bradon, so I'm glad he was safe. All the Timothy/Miranda drama came out on the runway, and I did think that Timothy handled it incorrectly. Sure, Miranda messed up big time, but she seemed to legitimately be upset about it. At least, in the lounge, it was pointed out to him that he was doing the same thing that Miranda did the day before. 

Helen is the winner. Kate is in. Alexandria and Dom are in. Alexander and Justin are in.
Three strikes, and you're OUT, Timothy. Miranda is in.
Timothy goes out in true Timothy style. He says that he should’ve danced more. As he cleans up his stuff, he says that he won’t ever stop believing in unicorns and takes his cute unicorn with him.

So far, if you ignore the fact that i predicted Karen to be gone first, I've done pretty well. It looks like we'll have Sandro storming off the set next episode, which probably means he's going to quit. That's great for me, because it falls right in line with my elimination order which, in case you forgot, is this:

15-Karen
14-Kahindo
13-Timothy
12-Sandro
11-Helen
10-Dom

This gap represents the talent gap that I believe exists between those above and below...

9-Alexander
8-Alexandria
7-Justin
6-Kate
5-Jeremy
4-Ken
3-Sue
2-Bradon
1-Miranda

Right now, I'm thinking that I might re-do this just a touch. I feel like Sue probably won't make it as far as I originally guessed. Helen will probably make it farther than I thought. So, here's a new, top 13 order:

13-Sandro
12-Karen
11-Dom
10-Alexander
9- Helen
8-Alexandria
7-Justin
6-Sue
5-Kate
4-Miranda
3-Ken
2-Jeremy
1-Bradon

So, there you go! I'm really curious if Sandro leaving means that a previous designer returns. Maybe Timothy??? I doubt it, but we'll have to see! Also, Saturday, I'll be posting the first section of my list of Project Runway designers from best to worst! So make sure you check that out! See you then!

Project Runway Season 12 Episode 2: Million Dollar Runway

Welcome to my 2nd Project Runway Season 12 review! First off, sorry this review is so late. Again. But at least I'm doing it. I almost didn't actually write it. That being said, let's jump right in!

Check out all of my Project Runway Season 12 review posts HERE.

This episode begins with a huge van pulling up to Parsons and huge muscley men get out of it carrying cases. They come out to the runway, thoroughly confusing the designers. Heidi comes out with the velvet bag (oh no!) and then the models come out dripping in expensive jewelry. The designers then get to choose models one by one. For the most part, they seem to be choosing solely on the jewelry, which is the smartest decision in my opinion. I'm also REALLY glad that Timothy was the last one to choose, because he clearly didn't care what he got, because the jewelry didn't inspire him. So for once, everything is actually fair in Project Runway Land.

After admiring the jewelry and sketching a bit, the designers go to Mood, where they get the first chance to use their debit cards. I have yet to decide if I like this new change. It adds a bit more strategy to the competition, and has the potential to prove detrimental to a designer who over-spends. I do, however, like that they are told a suggested budget, because it gives them at least SOME guidance. If they didn't have that, they could completely over-spend every challenge and run out of money. More on the amount spent when I get to the runway. The only thing that happened at Mood that was of note was Timothy going through the scrap fabric and buying that. I actually really appreciate this, because he is really sticking to his "sustainable" fashion, but it's more logical than burning parachute fabric and completely denying her model any makeup or hair products.

The workroom is never really particularly interesting for me, but there were some points that were fairly important. First of all, Helen seemed to think that she had this challenge in the bag, because evening-wear is her forte. We'll see about that. Also, within the first approximately 15 minutes, I could tell who was going home. Last episode, Kahindo got little to no screen time. Basically, the only time we heard anything from her was when she introduced herself and when she sent her outfit down the runway. This episode, however, she's quite a big focus. When you decide to use a difficult to use fabric for the FIRST TIME on Project Runway, you should know you're in trouble.

Another major point was Sue and how, once again, she had trouble with the machine. What ever happened to each designer having their name on the machines? (Also, even then, they used each other's, and I definitely didn't understand that either) If they would just each have one dedicated machine, problems like this would be alleviated. Since Sue was using black thread, and either Dom or Kahindo re-threaded the machine to be green, Dom helped her re-thread it to black. All she got back, however, was Sue's wrath. I'm not so sure about putting Sue in the top now. She seems to be getting kinda rude, and doesn't know how to use the machines. That may cause a problem for her!

Timothy also had a bit of a problem with his garment. But seriously, who thinks that a rectangle covering the model's boobs looks cute and fashionable? After Tim's critique, he seemed to turn it around and get on a much better track, although he does seem to need to ask everyone in the workroom what he should do. Helen also was having a tough time, trying to make cups for the first time, as well as trying to execute an intricate design. Not smart.

Moving on to the Runway!
Alexander: Once again, I was impressed with what he made. I thought that it looked really cool, and definitely fit his avant-garde aesthetic. And that pop of yellow was really nice.
Alexandria: Although it's a style of dress that I've seen before, I thought it looked really well made, and really pretty. She did, however, spend about 50-75 dollars over budget. And I think that was the most that anyone went over the suggested budget.
Bradon: Once again, I was really impressed with Bradon's dress. I would probably say that it was my favorite look to walk the runway. I thought the little jacket took away from it, but it was SO pretty and looked beautifully crafted.
Dom: I wasn't as impressed as the judges seemed to be. It was just OK for me. And the styling seemed really off. That headband was not good.
Helen: This was definitely a mess. She tried to do too much and ended up failing. And her breakdown that caused the abrupt pause to the runway show just shows that she's not really as tough as the exterior that she puts up.
Jeremy: Once again, I was impressed with Jeremy's look. I loved the tulle at the bottom! 
Justin: The dress was really simple, but it looked beautiful. I really liked it.
Kahindo: While yes, the color complimented the model's hair color, it wasn't made to highlight the jewelry... which was the challenge. 
Karen: Once again, Karen seems to think that making baggy dresses is cute. It was boring, and something I've seen a thousand times. And the boob area didn't fit right.
Kate: Although I wanted Braden to win, I knew Kate was going to be the winner. It was SO well constructed, and looked like SO much time and energy had been put into it. 
Ken: I actually really liked his dress! And I was stunned at the price tag for his fabric. He only spent $75! SERIOUSLY. That's just a WOW. If any of the other designers were told that they had that budget, I think they would lose it.
Miranda: For me, it was too reminiscent of last challenge's dress. The shape seemed to be exactly the same, with the same little tummy hole.
Sandro: While I wasn't as impressed as the judges, it was a definite improvement on last week. 
Sue: It was ok. Nothing terribly interesting about it. 
Timothy: A million times better than the rectangle boob! And at least this time he actually used makeup. I'm glad he's still in.

Top:

Kate

Dom

Sandro

Bottom 3:

Timothy

Helen

Kahindo

While I'm not going to give lengthy explanations of the judges' opinions, I am kinda surprised Dom didn't win, solely because Heidi was pushing so hard for her. She said at least twice, both with the contestants on the runway, and during the time with just the judges and dress, that Dom's was her favorite. 

Kate is declared the winner. Seriously, if Dom or Sandro would've won, I would be annoyed. She deserved that.

Both Dom and Sandro are in. Helen is also in The bottom two is Timothy and Kahindo, but it is Kahindo who is declared out. Timothy needs to get out of the bottom two... not by getting out, but by making better clothing.

So, there you go, that's my review of Thursday's Project Runway episode! Is anyone else already ready to see Sandro storm off the set?

Also, I'll make a post just dedicated to this, but would anyone be interested in reading a blog about past Project Runway seasons? I've seen pretty much every episode 5 times, and re-watch constantly, so I could definitely blog a season at a time if anyone wanted to read it. Project Throwback, anyone? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my late review. I'll hopefully see you back here after Episode 3!

Project Runway Season 12 PREMIERE: UNICORNS!

Ok, so maaaaaybe the episode wasn't titled UNICORNS! but it totally should've been. At the very least, it was our Project Runway word of the week.

So... I made a thing. I think it's clever, but I'm probably the only one.

Welcome to my Project Runway review! First off, sorry this review is so late. I meant to post this like 2 days ago. Anyway, I was so extremely excited for this season to finally get here. It's my favorite show, and during the summertime, I actually have time to watch it the night it's on! Hopefully, I'll be able to keep this up when school gets back, but for now, let's jump right in!

Rather than simply recap the "Road To The Runway" episode, I'll just briefly give my opinions about the designers. Before every season, I go onto the Project Runway site and go through every single designer's page and try to feel out who my favorites are going to be. Being my nerdy self, I actually have a scoring system for different aspects... mostly their personality. Upon doing that, my top scorers going into the episode were : Alexander, Alexandria, Angela, Justin, Miranda, Sandro, and Timothy. My opinions about everyone have changed slightly, so I'll go through them one by one.

Alexander: While I do like him about as much as I thought I would, right now he's just at the mid-top of the pack for me. He seems like a pretty cool guy, so I'll be interested to see where he eventually falls on my favorites list.

Alexandria: For me, she seems very contradictory. She seems very soft spoken, but also seemed to bash everyone in her confessionals! I don't get it! She seems really cool, though and I really love both her personal style and her aesthetic, so for now I like her. If we start getting a Gretchen personality, I will ditch her.

Angela: She seemed to show quite a bit of promise. On her page, she described her design as similar to Michelle, the winner of teams. I really liked Michelle's design, so that, plus the fact that she was in a rock band, really interested me!

Bradon: He seems to be pretty chill and really friendly. He's definitely among my favorites, because he seems to have a great personality, coupled with lots of talent! Right now, he seems pretty humble. Let's just hope he doesn't turn sour.

Dom: When I saw on her page that she loved Jay from season 1 and my boy Jeffrey from season 3, I got excited. But I'm not so sure right now. I have yet to fully grasp her aesthetic, as well as her personality. So, we'll see!

Helen: When I first saw her, I thought Helen would be my girl. Edgy, tattooed, recipe for cool designer, right? (at least, in the eyes of me, the girl who ADORES Seth Aaron Henderson). But when I watched her tour videos, she seemed way timid. Then, on the show, she was totally BAM, in your face catty. I'm so confused. Time will tell if she ends up being someone I support.

Jeremy: I didn't have much of an opinion on him when I first sat down to watch, and I actually spent way too much time trying to figure out where his accent is from. I don't know if it's the accent, but something intrigued me, and although he's middle of the pack for me right now, I'd say he's more on the likeable side.

Justin: He had one of my highest scores going into the show, and he certainly didn't disappoint. I could talk on and on about how he's an inspiration (because he truly is), but I feel like no one with any sort of physical disability really wants to be coddled and patted on the back for doing something in life. And he seems to have a great sense of humor about it, joking that if people are bothering him, he can simply just shut everyone off. That being said, I think it's really cool to see technology like that in action. I've seen videos of people getting to hear for the first time using those and I find it so interesting that even though they speak English, the first words they hear probably don't actually make sense, because they've never heard them. Anyway, I TOTALLY digress. I think he's a really talented designer, and I can't wait to see more of him.

Kahindo: She's probably the most middle of the line designer for me. I don't like her, I don't dislike her, I just kinda have a meh feeling toward her.

Karen: I think I'm going to end up liking her, but it seems like she can get annoying. She seems very happy and genuine and down to earth, but maybe a bit TOO happy smiley rainbows for me.

Ken: He scored pretty low before the show, but I'm not so sure about that. I just don't know yet. We didn't get to see a lot of him.

Miranda: She actually scored highest on my pre-show scoring. Now, it was by only a single point, and there wasn't a ton of deviation, but I do like her. I think she's going to do really well in the competition.

Sandro: At first, he seemed interesting, but by the end of the premiere, I wanted to get rid of him. It seems like they're trying to make him this season's Casanova. But he's not anywhere near as likeable as Casanova... Really, he isn't likeable at all.

Sue: At first, I wasn't so sure about her, but immediately upon seeing her aesthetic, I started warming up to her. By the end of the premiere, I decided that I like her. Hopefully, she turns out some great work!

Timothy: I think Timothy is absolutely ridiculous. So far, he doesn't seem like a great designer, and his "sustainable clothing" thing is going to get old really... wait. It has already gotten old. But I don't want him to ever go away. He brought such a humor to the first episode! Even when the skydivers jumped from the plane and he exclaimed that they were puppies falling from the sky!(At that point, I thought he was precious, not craycray... but he's definitely the latter) I don't expect him to last long, but he MIGHT, just because although HE is cuckoo crazy, his designs don't seem to be.

OK, so since our first episode was so insanely long with Road To The Runway, I'm going to try to keep this short. On Road To The Runway, I loved getting to see some of my all time fave designers, like Anthony Ryan and Mondo- as well as Mr. Verreos, of course! While I didn't watch a TON of season 11 (busy college student!) I did watch enough to decide that I like Michelle's aesthetic, so it was nice to hear her feedback as well.

This season, we have some new twists, which were gradually introduced to us throughout the show.
-During the runway shows, the judges do not know who designed each look. They don't find out until scores are tabulated. This is probably to keep it fair and unbiased.
-Tim will be present, but not judging, at the runway show.
-After the runway show and the initial judging, the judges get a close up look at the top and bottom looks.
-A single time in the season, Tim is allowed to save a designer if he feels the judges made an incorrect decision. This is done after the contestant has been eliminated and has returned to the designers lounge. So basically, Tim can either give them their usual hug goodbye and tell them to head to the workroom to clean up their space, or he can save them at that point.
-The prize package has practically quadrupled. I don't remember all the details, but they get more than 500,000 worth of stuff. I was seriously wondering when Heidi's laundry list of prizes was going to end!

Did I forget anything? It seemed like there were so many changes! So, the episode begins at a small airport. The designers gather together with Heidi and Tim and are told that a past designer will be joining them. The fans got to vote between 3: R'amon from season 6, Valerie from season 8, or Kate from season 11. I definitely support Valerie the most of those, and I liked R'amon as well, even though he seemed like a random choice. Although I watched little of season 11, I knew Kate was the rude one, so I was hoping it wouldn't be her. I knew R'amon wouldn't get it. Season 6 was far too forgettable and he didn't last THAT long. While I felt it was between Kate and Val, I knew it was much more likely that Kate would get it, since she was on the show most recently. Unfortunately, I was right. She popped out of the airplane and joined her fellow designers.

The designers find out that they are supposed to make an outfit out of parachute fabric, and make a mad dash to get the parachute they want. I thought it was absolutely hilarious when Kate totally wiped out! I won't bore you with workroom details, but I will touch on Timothy. I'm sure he made his model feel completely uncomfortable by asking her how she felt about acting. Then he spent a super long time coaching her on how he wanted her to... walk?... down the runway. He wanted it to be like she was being pulled by the handcuffs that bound her hands together. Then, in hair and makeup, he basically told them not to use any styling products at all, be it a straightener or hairspray. So they just braided her hair and were done. And for makeup, he didn't have them do... ANYTHING! The best part for me was that the model didn't even do the crazy moves down the runway! She just posed like one of the moves he coached her on. I'm sure he wasn't happy about that. Also, can we mention how crazy high his heels were? SERIOUSLY. And his model was barefoot. Oh, and he talked about unicorns constantly. I'm legitimately concerned that he believes that unicorns are real.

Moving on to the Runway!
Alexander: I really liked his design, but the fact that it was riding up in the front probably kept him from being in the top. I actually forgot his was parachute!
Alexandria: I thought hers was OK. There was certainly no reason for her to be so cocky, though!
Angela: This was just really unfortunate. It was really ill fitting and just looked like some huge, cheap raincoat.
Bradon:I really loved this. It was probably my favorite thing that walked the runway.
Dom: I'm surprised this avoided the bottom. It was boring and unflattering. Hoodies usually aren't PR material.
Helen: I liked her dress. I wasn't wowed, but it was OK. I was kinda confused though, because the whole dress was white and blue, but there was this hint of reddish brown on the chest. On purpose? Accident? Who knows!
Jeremy: I actually really liked his look! I liked the contrast of the really busy pant and the basic white top.
Justin: I thought his dress was really cute. It was as if she was wearing a tie!
Kahindo: I wasn't sure of the point of the pleats, but I liked her color blocking. 
Karen: I would have liked this... if it had fit! It was way huge and like a bag on her model! The unfortunate thing is that I think she meant to do that! She seems to like things that are too baggy. That concerns me!
Kate: I thought it was cute. Simple, and not the most original thing I've ever seen, but cute.
Ken: His construction of that collar was fabulous. I'm not sure it was a good idea to have two ruffles though. The inner one didn't seem as wow. He's clearly really talented though!
Miranda: I'm actually not totally sure why this wound up in the top in the first place. It wasn't THAT great. Sure, it was well made, and OK, but not a wow. And she broke the rules quite a bit.
Sandro: His poor model had to use those random ropes he threw on her JUST to cover up her good china, since it was completely popping out of the bathing suit! I'm having flashbacks to season 7's "hardwear" (see my pun there?) challenge and Emilio's washer and string bathing suit. Just NO.
Sue: That rouching was really great, and the color and the way that the dress fell were also amazing. 
Timothy: I thought that bits and pieces of both the back and front were good, but it was like they were two different dresses!

Top:

Sue

Bradon

Sue: The judges loved her rouching and the effortless-looking draping
Bradon: The judges loved the train in the back, and although a couple questioned the strings in the front, they showered praise on him.

Top/Bottom

Miranda

Miranda: At first, Miranda was in the top, but when the judges realized how little of her fabric was actually parachute fabric (but really, how did they not realize this earlier?), they decided to make an example of her and put her in the bottom for not really following the instructions.

Bottom 3:

Angela

Timothy

Sandro

Timothy: They didn't understand any of his reasoning, and thought he was contradicting himself.

Angela: They also thought it seemed like some sad, ill fitting coat.

Sandro: They felt like although the taste just WAS NOT there, that the construction skills were. Because although it showed the good china, it was intricately designed.

Bradon is declared the winner. With as much as they praised him, it would be ridiculous for them to give the win to anyone else.

Sue is in. Miranda is given a slap on the wrist, but is safe. To my annoyance, Sandro is also in. The bottom two is Timothy and Angela, but it is Angela who is declared out.

Just for fun, I figured I would give y'all my ridiculously early predictions for order of elimination. Although my own bias will probably play a small part, the majority of this will be how talented they appear to be/ their character.

15-Karen- because her baggy dress was SO bad
14-Kahindo- because so far, she seems pretty forgetable
13-Timothy- because he has a big personality, but that can't get him far
12-Sandro- because eventually, bad taste catches up with you
11-Helen- because the mean girl never wins. And she doesn't seem that great
10-Dom- because she doesn't seem as unique and at top 10, that will become obvious

This gap represents the talent gap that I believe exists between those above and below...

9-Alexander- because I like him, but I'm not sure the judges will.
8-Alexandria- because she's over-confident, without QUITE the chops to back it up
7-Justin- because of potential sympathy card, fairly ok designer. I want him to go further though.
6-Kate- because the comeback kid never wins
5-Jeremy- because he seems talented, but not quite finale material
4-Ken- because of his amazing construction skills and drive to win
3-Sue- because of her talent, construction, and aesthetic
2-Bradon- because he's proved to be a force to be reckoned with, but remained humble
1-Miranda- because she has a strong point of view and pushes boundaries.

Honestly, in my opinion, anyone between 3-9 could be shaken up and moved around. But I feel like those in 10-15 need to be weeded out. Also, I think either Bradon or Miranda could win. Or even someone else from 9 down. And I actually just realized that I chose this episode's top 3 as my 3 finalists. WOW haha! Anyway, I don't think this is necessarily who I WANT it to be. I really like Bradon and Miranda, but I think I'd rather see Justin in the finale than Sue. But that's just because he's really funny and seems to be a great guy. But I also am liking Jeremy and Sue. Ken wouldn't be anywhere near as high if I was ranking solely on where I want people to land. Also, Timothy would be a lot higher, because I want to laugh at him for as long as possible!

Also, I'll make a post just dedicated to this, but would anyone be interested in reading a blog about past Project Runway seasons? I've seen pretty much every episode 5 times, and re-watch constantly, so I could definitely blog a season at a time if anyone wanted to read it. Project Throwback, anyone? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my super-late review. I'll hopefully see you back here MUCH sooner after Episode 2!